Switch



F. FARRELL April 2, 1929.

swncn Filed oct. 31. 1924 '3 SheetsSheet April 2, 1929. t l f FARRELL 1,707,461

y swI'rcH Filed oct. 31, 1924 i s sheets-sheet 2 Patented Apr. V2, 1929.

UNITED "'sTATEs l y 1,707,461 PATENT OFFICE.

l FRED FARRELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, .ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRICALENGINEERS.'

EQUIPMENT CO'., 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

' SWITCH. I

Appiicaaon mea october ai, 1924. serialv No. 746,969.

My invention relates to electric switches of the outdoor type. Such switches being-exposed to the weather are subject to accumulations of sleet and ice which tend to clog the contacts and make it difiicult lto close the switch. When one of the switch contacts is a split contact or socket the ice or sleet. may

` jam the same and Vprevent proper closing of the switch. Also, the split or socket contact may be'damaged by such clogging'with ice or sleet in attempting to close the switch.

In `the case of a stud contact it is easy to i cut orscrape the ice or sleet coating off because it drops off externally, but that is not true in the caseof a split or socket contact which isusually employed in combination with a stud contact.

I have observed that if the two contacts, that is, the split or socket contact and the stud contact, are held at all times in a hori zontal position and are brought into engagement with'each other through a substantially horizontal motion, the split or socket contact may be covered with an overhanginrr hood whichprotects it from a deposit 'of sleetor ice. The stud Contact, even if exposed to the "weather, is easily cleaned by the scraping f motion of the split ork socket contact along the sides of the same. lMy invention relates to this class of switches where the contacts are brought into engagement by a motion which will permit the socket contactto be held at l all stages of its` motion in such a position, that is, substantiallyV horizontally, sol that it may be protected by a projecting or overhanging sleet hood.

I am aware that itis old to bring the twol contacts into engagement by swinging one of them in a horizontal plane, the o ening vor rupturing distance being secured y movement of an arm about'a vertical pivot, but that is notv satisfactory. The stud contact then has its fiat sidefacing upwardly with the possibility of accumulating a relatively large amount of sleet or ice upon its top-side,

- which imbalances the action of the contact` @and is more difficult to remove.. lI am also aware of switches having contacts guided in fixed-horizontal .guides for rectilinear' 1110-l tion. It is difficult to secure the required rupturing without too great mechanical comp cation and friction. J l

According to my invention, I disposey the contacts in a vertical plane and bringthem into engagement by a motion which may best be described as a plunging motion produced through a linkage involving two links pivoted to a third link orarm. l

In the preferred form lof the invention these links are non-parallel for the purpose of changing motion from a strictly parallel motion to a compound motion, which provides that the movable contacts shall stand when the switch is opened in an inclined position, and shall approach more nearly a horizontal position as the switch is closed.

This permits the open position to providel` greater rupturing space and, in the preferred embodiment, permits the movable contacts to the opposite end of the arm is pivoted to aY stationary support and hence is stationary.

The relative motion between the opposite ends o'f the linkage, regardless of which end of the linkage is free, isf-highly useful for operating the switch contact.

.In the preferred embodiment'the non-parallel links are pivoted upon the arm at their converging ends and to` theiframe at their diverging ends, the result beingia greater spacing of the pivots on the frame member than on the arm" member. The frame member which 1s movable carries the socket cn-v tact and also carries a sleet hood, but the invention is not to be limited to this specific arrangement. l

, One gr'eat advantage of this linkage is that for a given length of switch arm the separa- 7 tion of the contacts is relatively great and the linkage which corresponds to the blade of the ordinary switch pulls up out of the way in the vertical pane of the line conductor.

A specific advantage of the preferred embodiment is the guiding f the movable'contact upon thetop of the swinging operating p insulator. sleet hood, is constrained both by the linkage and by the operating insulator which is pivoted to the contact. The movable insulator also relieves the linkage ofthe weight of the contact and the hood, so that the'linkage may 'The movable contact, with its be made relatively much lighter than would be required it the linkage alone were called upon to support the movable contact.

To acquaint thoseskilled in the art with the manner of constructing and practicing the present invention, l shall in connection with the accompanying drawings, describe a specilic embodiment ot the same.

Fig. l is a side elevation ol the separable contacts showing the means employed 'lor mounting and adjustin the hood, andthe positions ot the hood w en the contacts are in and out of engagement in solid and broken i lines, respectively;

Fig. v2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the separable contact means showing the manner in which the hood is mounted on the reciting member;

Figs. 3 and 4l are sectional views taken on lines 3-3, and l-h respectively, ot llig. 2; and I lig. 5 is a rear elevation oit the hood.

The hood 7 has a side wall Strom the margin oi which a wall 9 entends laterally and closes the back and to ot the hood. 'lhe side 8 projects forwardly eyond the blade means ld and wall 3 is turned down a short distance along the forward margin thereof at l and moves over stud l ahead ol blade lll and otters maximum protection for the stud, blades and blade mounting' when the switch is closed. The baclz is turned ont at ll and the bottom l2 is turned down at l3 to term a suitable opening with the bach through which the dat denible conductors 2d may be led tor connection with blades ld. The opposite end ot the bottom l2 is turned up at 2l, the space between this nptnrned end 2l and the downturned end 10 forms an opening 22 through which the stud l5, which is secured to the lined member 6l, is adapted to extend for contact with blades ll. 'llhe hood 7 terms a trame member upon which the movable contact ld, in this case is mounted, and to which the divergent ends ot the linlrs 50 and 51 are pivoted.

@ne side ot hood 7 is open at 25 to permit mounting the blades in the hood. rlhis open side is closed by a cover 26. lProjectinp,- laterally trom the inner side ol cover 26 are lugs or tlanges 2'? which cooperate with the back, top, bottom, downturned and upturned ends to position the cover on the open side 25 oi the hood 7. 'llhe cover and hood are secured together at their rear end by bolts 28, one arranged above the other and an additional bolt 29 to bind together the forward end oi the hood and cover. Suitable recesses 30 are provided in the side 3 and the cover 26 in order that heads ot bolts 28 and 29 may be dash with the outer surfaces oi the side and cover respectively. The side 3 and the cover 26 also have intergal with their inner sur-- faces projecting pins 3l on which are mountn monaci' nected a link 50 by means ci the pin 35. A-

biturcated lug 4l 1s integral with the downturned portion 13 of the bottom l2 and is in the same vertical plane with the bifurcated lug 40. To lug 4:1, link 5l is pivotally connected by means of pin 36. Both pins and 36 are headed at both ends. Illhe opposite end oflink is pivotally connected to one end of arm 52 by means of pin 37. Link 5l is also pivotally connected to link 52 by means of pin 38 at a point below that to which arm 50 is connected. The lower end not arm 52 is pivotally connected to a lined member 63 by' means oi pin 39. Uonnecting pins 37, 33 and 39 all are headed at both ends to prevent their working out of position. The flexible conductors which are preferably braided copper ribbons 2d pass thronggl'i the opening in the hood 20 and are connected tothe blades 14. These conductors lie on each side of the links connecting the hood with the fixed .member 63 and are fastened to them at regular intervals by suitable fastening means. 'lhe tree ends ot the conductors 2d are secured to a base member 67 the :fixed insulator 63 by a clamping plate 6d which has a curved guide at 65 at 'its 'forward end for controlling the flexing oil thefribbons 2d. The plate 66 also has an integral lug 66 to which are pvoted the rear ends of arm 52. rlhe line conductor 63 is provided with a socket terminal 55 which is bolted to the base plate 6T over the ribbons 2li. rlhe base plate 67 has an integral extension reaching ou' beyond the terminal 55. lt is adapted to take the 'mechanical stress of the conductor 68 oil" ot' the terminal. To this end the conductor 68 is clamped to said extension 69 by a 'll-bolt 70.

The conductor 71 is connected to the stationary terminal stud l5 in a similar manner. ln this case theconductor is connected'elcctrically through a socket terminal 72 which is bolted to the lower end of the stud 15. The stud l5 has a laterally extending lug 7 3 and la lllbolt 74 for gripping the conductor 71 beyond the terminal 7 3. i

llhen the switchis open, the rocking member, hood, and links will take thepositions 62'., 7 50', 5l and 52 which are indicated by the dotted lines of vFig. l. ln this position the hood covers the blade mechanism in a manner which will prevent sleet, snow, or rain from getting at it. li now the rocking member is swung over so that contact is made between the blades 14 and the clip 15, the bood Awith the back 9 and centrally ico .- is in or out of contact.

hood is actuated at all times by a uniformly constrained positive'motion. This permits it to operate smoothly, thereby eliminating any. jarring which would tend to disalign the blade mechanism and prevent. them from functioning properly.

I do not intend to be limited to the detailsy of construction of the particular embodiment shown, but intend that all such modifications and variations as will suggest themselves tov one skilled in theart and coming within the spirit of my invention be included within the terms of the appended claims.

I claim Y "1. 'In combination, a protecting hood, the

i n back and bottom of said hood havinglugs integral therewith, said lugsibeing in subi stantially the same vertical plane and located A at the lower and back portions of the back and bottom respectively, and linkage means connected to said lugs. v

2. In a switch,afixed member, a base'platev havin an integral extension. secured thereto, flexib e conductors' secured to said plate by guide clamping means and by a socket having afconductor'securely fastened therein, said conductor being also secured to the integral extension of said base plate by suitable bolt means.

,3. In a switch,in combination, a rocking member having a. lug secured thereon, a protecting hood having a lug pivotall connected to said lug, a pair of lugs on sai hood, and links pivotally connected to said lugsl for 1m- 'parting an independent angular .motion to said hood. 4. In a switch, in combination, a fixed memf' ber a rocking member, a protecting hood piv'- l otaily mounted on said rock1ngmember,flex1 ble conductor means secured to said fixed member,'a link member pivotally mounted on said fixed member, a pair A01E link members pivotally connected vto saidprotectmg hood, the opposite ends of which are pivotally connected to the link member connected Ato said fixed member, said flexible conductor means being looped over ythe connection between the link member connected to the fixed member and the link members connected tothe i protecting hood. f

5. In a switch, in combination, a fixed member with contact means secured thereto, a second member, a rocking member fixed therebetween, a hood having contact means fastened therein and pivotally mounted on said rocking member, link mechanism for actuat-l ingsaid hood, said link mechanism comprising a pair of links pivotally secured to said ber-with contact means secured thereto, a seckage comprising the'combination of a frame hood, and an arm pivotally connected to said fixed member and to said links. 6.` In a switch, in combination, a fixed memond member, a rocking member fixed therebetween, a hood having contact. means -fastened therein and pivotallyconnected to said rocking member, link mechanism for actuating said hood, said link mechanism comprising a pair of links pivotally secured to said 7 hood, and an arm pivotally connected to said' i pivotal connection with` the second insulator,

and means for collapsing and expanding-said linkage. 1

8. In a switch, in combination, a fixed mem-y ber having contact means thereon, a rocking member having contact means thereon adapted for cooperation with the contact means on said fixed member, a protecting, hood over one of said contact means, and link mechanism for actuating said hood comprising a pair of links pivotally connected to said hood and to a pivotally mounted arm member.

9. In a switch, in combination, an insulating member having contact means thereon, a second insulating member having contact means thereon,'means for bringing said contact means linto and out of engagement, said means comprising a pair of linkspivotally connected to one of said contact means at one end `and to apivotally mounted arm at the v opposite end. i

10. vIn a switch, a contact operating link:

member, an armmember, a pair ofy non-parallel links having their convergent ends plvoted at separate points upon the arm member, and l having their divergent ends pivoted at separate points upon the frame member, a movable contact upon one of the members, a pivotal support for the other member, and means 4 for operating said linkage to move said mov able contact.

11. In a switch, a contact operating linkage comprising the combination of a frame member, an arm member, a pair of non-parallel links having their convergent ends pivoted at 'separate points upon the arm member, and havingtheir diver ent ends pivotedat separate points upon t 'e frame member, a movable contact upon .one of the members, a pivotal support for the other member, and means for operating said linkage lto move said movable contact, a stationary contact adapted to be engaged by the movable contact, and a sleet hood for one of said contacts.

12. In a switch, a contact operating linkage comprising a frame member, an arm member, a pair of links pivoted at one end at separatepoints upon the frame member and piv l oted at their other end at separate points upon the arm member, a movable Contact carried upon one of the members, a pivotal support for the other member, and a movable insulator pivoted to one of said members to operate said linkage to move said movable contact.

13. In combination, a swinging insulator, a sleet hood pivoted on said insulator, a con-y tact mounted in thehood and supported thereby, a linkage connected to said hood and controlling the angular position.` thereof about said pivot, a second insulator bearing a cooperating contact, an arcing horn for said 'second insulator and an arcing horn cooperating with the first arcing horn and vmounted on the first insulator below said pivot.

lll.. -ln combination, an insulator pivotally mounted about its lower end, a sleet hood pivp oted directly onvthe upper end of the insulator, said hood being open at its front and.

closed at top, back and side, a Contact mount.

ed in the hood and a pair of controlling links pivoted to said hood and controlling the position thereof.

15, In combination, a sleet hood open at its front and closed at top, back and sides, a contact mounted on the inside of the hoodand movable angularly therewith and a pair of controlling links pivoted to said hood and controlling the angular position of said hood and of said contacts. r v v n 16. ln combination, a sleet hood open at its front and closed at top, back and sides, a

Contact mounted on. the inside of the hood'and movable angularly-therewith and a pair of controlling links pivoted 'to said hood and controllin@ the angular position oi said hood and'of said contacts, anda single link pivoted to both of said links and to a stationary pivot. In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 28th day of @ctoberg 192i..

` FRED FARRELL. 

